Niagara Detention Centre staff want masks to protect themselves, inmates from COVID-19

Correctional officers at the Niagara Detention Centre argue they should be allowed to wear masks while carrying out their duties in order to keep both employees and inmates safe.

The call for more protective equipment comes after four officers said they would not search dormitories at the jail without masks.

That work refusal on April 15 led to an investigation by the Ontario Ministry of Labour and, while the employees have since been ordered back to work, an inspector has issued an order to the jail and is continuing to probe the situation as a safety complaint.

Marko Mrmak, a correctional officer and president of CUPE Local 252, says the Thorold facility has surgical masks in stock and asking to wear one was not a problem before the COVID-19 pandemic.

He argues the virus is even more reason for officers to be wearing personal protective equipment — and inmates seem to agree.

"More and more in the last couple of weeks we've been hearing it from the actual inmates saying 'Why aren't you guys wearing masks? We don't want you guys to keep coming in here not wearing masks,'" he explained.

"They know we're the ones leaving the jail every day and going home. There's a high chance if it's going to come into our place it's going to be one of us. This is us protecting everybody."

The ministry was contacted about the work refusal at the Thorold facility on April 15, according to a spokesperson.

"Approximately 30 workers are refusing to work due to lack of PPE," wrote Janet Deline in an email.

Mrmak was quick to note that while there were probably about 30 employees in the jail at the time, only four of them were actually involved in the work refusal.

An inspector was sent to the jail to investigate on April 16, but the ministry says they ruled the circumstances didn't meet the necessary criteria for a work refusal so it was reclassified as a complaint instead.

One order was issued to the jail Friday, but Deline declined to provide any details about it until the investigation is over.

Mrmak said he received an email Monday saying the inspector will be back at the jail tomorrow.

While there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the jail, the union president said two inmates were placed in isolation because of their travel history before being incarcerated.

'Social distancing, that doesn't exist'

He said the jail's layout mean staff are often in close contact with groups of inmates, especially during mealtimes or medical treatment.

"Essentially you're walking into a room that's full of inmates and they're free to roam … and you're pretty much walking all among them," he said. "Social distancing, that doesn't exist. "

Niagara isn't the only jail where staff refused work last week.

The ministry of labour says three employees at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre — where a staff member tested positive for the virus in late March — refused work over "concerns of COVID-19 exposure" on April 16.

That incident was dealt with internally, said Deline, and no ministry involvement was required.

In a statement to CBC, Ministry of the Solicitor General spokesperson Kristy Denette said keeping inmates and employees safe is the government's top priority.

She said staff at Ontario's jails, including the Niagara Detention Centre, have access to PPE "as required."

Employees are also asked to carry out a self-assessment before entering the facility and report any changes in their health to a supervisor.

"Niagara Detention Centre actively screens staff and inmates, and has also implemented temperature checks," Denette added.

'Anxiety and fear'

But Mrmak said the temperature checks and screening only started Friday and much of the staff working at the facility are still without masks.

The jail has emptied two units where new inmates will be housed for two weeks, according to the officer.

Staff who will be working in those areas are being supplied with masks, but officers walking among groups of inmates in the dorms and other shared spaces during their rounds still don't have masks.

Mrmak pointed to the Ontario Correctional Institute in Brampton where at least 60 inmates and eight staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. The province announced it was shutting down the jail Monday and moving hundreds of inmates to the Toronto South Detention Centre.

Situations like that "build up anxiety and fear" among inmates and staff, he said.

"OCI ... is a perfect example of what we're trying to prevent."